Indianapolis Colts Cory Redding walks off in defeat after their game against the Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium on Sunday, December 8, 2013. The Colts lost 42-28 to the Bengals.

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Talk about a one-dimensional offense: The Colts ran the football just 12 times Sunday against the Bengals. Twelve. Donald Brown, one of the heroes of the Tennessee game, ran just four stinkiní times. Trent Richardson showed a little bit of life, but still ended up averaging just 3.3 yards per carry, although that ranks as an improvement. Fans want Andrew Luck to throw the ball all over the field, but the Colts, like most teams, are more effective when they have some semblance of balance. Twelve runs, 46 pass attempts. Those are losing numbers. Thirty-two of the Coltsí 63 yards came on Luck runs. When Luck is your leading rusher, chances are youíre going to lose and lose badly.

RUN DEFENSE

Again, letís talk about balance. Cincinnati had it ó 35 runs, 35 pass attempts. Little wonder they dropped 42 on the Coltsí increasingly porous defense. The Bengals ran for 155 yards, a solid 4.4 average, led by Giovani Bernardís 99 yards on 12 carries (an 8.3 average). I would have hoped that by this point in the season, the Colts defense would have grown into a middle-of-the-pack unit, but it hasnít happened. General Manager Ryan Grigson and owner Jim Irsay dropped a lot of cash into this side of the football, and itís been a huge disappointment. In the past six games, the Colts have allowed an average of 32 points per game, which is shockingly bad.

PASS OFFENSE

If youíre a glass-half-full-of-Black-Label kind of person, consider this: The Colts scored 28 second-half points, even if some of them came late in the game when the Bengals were playing a prevent defense. For the first time in a while, there were glimmers of hope, specifically from receivers DaíRick Rogers (six catches, 107 yards) and LaVon Brazill (three catches, 53 yards). If the Colts are going to be competitive down the stretch and into the playoffs, those guys are going to have to play a huge role. Defenses have made T.Y. Hilton disappear behind a curtain of double coverage, and Darrius Heyward-Bey, well, he just canít catch the football. Should be noted the Bengals didnít have a single sack after a five-sack game last week against Tennessee. You know me: Always accentuating the positive.

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PASS DEFENSE

What has happened to Vontae Davis? After the Denver game, you thought he was a guy the Colts absolutely had to re-sign when he hits free agency at seasonís end. Since then, heís played his way back onto the open market. This canít all be a function of not having Greg Toler playing on the other side. It just canít. Andy Dalton had a brilliant game, the kind of game the Bengals are going to need in the playoffs, completing 24-of-35 passes for 275 yards and three touchdowns, good for a 120.5 quarterback rating. The Colts pass rush never got close to Dalton, which wasnít much of a surprise given that Dalton hasnít been sacked since Week 10.

SPECIAL TEAMS

First, the positive: Pat McAfee and Sergio Brown had terrific games, twice pinning the Bengals inside the 4-yard line. Now, the negative: Adam Vinatieri, who has been money all season, missed a 44-yard field goal that he usually makes in his sleep. And the return teams were dreadful. Brandon Tate had four punt returns for an 18.3 average, including a 43-yarder that set up a Cincinnati score. Tate also had three kick returns at a 28.7 yard clip, including a 44-yarder that killed the Coltsí momentum and set up another Bengals score. Chris Rainey is an upgrade at kick returner, but I hold my breath every time he fields a punt, and not in a Devin Hester kind of way.

COACHING

A word about Mike Silverís NFL Network report that Pep Hamilton is under the gun internally to get the offense humming again. First, I believe the veracity of Silverís report. Heís a solid, seasoned reporter. That said, itís ridiculous, if indeed thatís the case. Hamilton may have had some early issues with making the transition from college to the pros, but when Reggie Wayne was still healthy, the Colts averaged more points than they did a year ago under Bruce Arians. The simple truth of the matter is that Hamilton is not playing with a full deck of cards. Attrition has caught up with the Colts offense. Their two best receivers Sunday were Rogers, who started the season in the street, and Brazill, who began the year on the suspended list for a drug-use infraction.

INTANGIBLES

Earlier this season, the Colts would have overcome Jeff Tripletteís mind-numbing overrule on the BenJarvus Green-Ellis touchdown run. They would have made a stop. They would have scored. Instead, they blew themselves up. Special teams coverage was brutal. Kelvin Sheppardís personal foul was especially hurtful. This team hasnít just lost a lot of its personnel; itís lost a lot of its mojo (Bill Polianís favorite term; not really). Itís going to take a pretty remarkable about-face these last three weeks for anybody to take the Coltsí postseason chances seriously.